Percussion mechanisms for fire arm



llg- 9, 1955 J. R. JAssE 2,714,836

PERCUSSION MECHNISMS FOR FIRE ARM Filed March 3, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l Toss-PH RAYMo/vb JSSE AH-vrmu/ llg- 9, 1955 J. R. JASSE PERCUSSION MECHANISMS FOR FIRE ARM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 3, 1950 www@ m .,m. E.

MVe'YH-or JOSEPH RAYMOND TASSE 1 y WMM-477 PERCUSSION MEcnANrsMs FOR FIRE ARM Joseph Raymond Jasse, Paris, France, assignor to Societe Nouvelle des Etablissements Brandt, Paris, France, a French body corporate Application March 3, 1950, Serial No. 147,527

Claims priority, application France March 15, 1949 3 Claims. (Cl. 89-27) 'Ihe present invention relates to percussion mechanism for mortars, bomb-throwers or similar fire arms adapted to be muzzle loaded, said mechanism being of the type in which the striker which is movable longitudinally in a slider, which is itself movable longitudinally, can either be locked by means of a suitable device acting on said slider in a projecting position in the breech of the iire arm with a view to insure an automatic percussion or be rendered movable in orde-r to insure a controlled percussion under the action of another suitable control device, both said devices being located behind the striker and the slider, for example in a removable independent housing adapted to be located in a single transverse cavity of the arm breech and having with the striker only stop contact connections along surfaces which are parallel with the transversal direction along which said housing is introduced into said cavity or removed therefrom with the exclusion of any positive connection.

Such percussion mechanisms have the drawback that a part of the gases produced at the moment of tiring may escape towards the rear and damage, through thermal, chemical and mechanical actions, the control and percussion devices and the adjacent members carried by the breech.

The invention has for its object to provide a percussion mechanism of the aforesaid type, said mechanism being improved in order to avoid for both percussions (automatic and controlled) any escape of the gases through said mechanism and consequently, their prejudicial actions. This result is obtained owing to the fact that the slider which controls the percussion position comprises a portion which constitutes a guide for the latter, said striker forming a valve, -the `seat of which is carried by the front of said guide.

Preferably, the slider is extended on the side of the point of the striker pin through a thin resilient jacket inserted without play in the cylindrical bore of a hollow body in which said slider slides axially.

The invention has also for its object to provide a tire arm provided with this percussion mechanism.

ln the accompanying drawing which is given only by way of example:

Fig. l is an axial horizontal section showing the breech of a mortar, said breech comprising a percussion mechanism, improved in accordance with the invention, said mechanism being shown in the position of controlled percussion.

Figs. 2 and 3 are, on an enlarged scale and in the positions of controlled percussion and of automatic percussion respectively, longitudinal sections of the striker, its slider guide and the corresponding outer body, i. e. of the percussion mechanism.

According to the form of execution which is shown and referring to Fig. l, 1 is the rear end of the gun-tube of a mortar adapted to be muzzle loaded. Screwed onto said tube is the breech body 2 which is extended through a breech tang 3 of cylindrical shape, terminating in a spherical breech head 4 provided in order to engage in States Patent icc the recess of a base plate not shown in the drawing.

Breech 2 is provided with an axial hole 5 adapted to receive the percussion device proper. Said hole opens in the front :part into tube 1 and in the -rear -part into a cavity 6 provided in the breech tang 4. Said cavity which is of a rectangle parallelepipedic shape .and which has a radial direction opens laterally outside on the cylindrical face of said tang 4.

Located in the axial hole 5 of the breech is the percussion device proper which is improved in accordance with the .present invention while the -control devices of a known type are removably located in cavity 6.

The percussion device comprises a bush 7 provided with an axial frusto-conical hole 8 and with a cylindrical extension. Said extension comprises, on the one hand, an external screw-thread 9 owing to which said bush is screwed into the internally screw-threaded vfront end of hole 5 of breech 2 and, on the other hand, an internal screw-thread 10.

Screwed in said thread 16 is a cylindrical hollow body 11; the external surface of said body 11 has a nonthreaded rearward Apart which has a diameter corresponding to that of the non-threaded part of hole 5 of the breech. The body 11 lls said hole therefore, behind the extension of bush 7. The front face of body 11 rests on a joint washer 12 of red copper, for example, which is squeezed by said face against a ring 13 in contact with the rear face of bush 7 in the bottom of a smooth part of the extension of said bush. The central hole 14 of said ring 13 extends the frusto-conical hole 8 of bush 7.

Inwardly, body 11 is bored axially throughout; its hole comprises from its front face a frusto-conical part 15a (Fig. 2) flaring rearwardly from the front, a first cylindrical part 15, an annular groove 16, a second cylindrical part 17 having a smaller diameter than that of part 15 but being longer than the latter, a second groove 18 near the rear end of said part 17, a third cylindrical part 19 having a larger diameter than that of part 17 and forming with the latter a transversal plane shoulder 20 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis XX and, lastly, a rear part 21 still having ,a larger diameter and internally screw-threaded.

Slidably moutned in smooth parts 17 and 19 is a slider adapted to control the percussion position and forming a striker guide. This slider is formed of two pieces; a sheath 22 and a guide piece 23 screw-threaded at 24 into the sheath and locked with respect to the latter by means of a screw 25.

Sheath 22 is extended towards the front around guide piece 23 in the form of a thin jacket 26 which is resilient owing to the character of the sheath itself which is made of steel or any other resilient metal or alloy. Said jacket has such a length that in the position of controlled percussion of Fig. 3 its front end merges very substantially with the rear edge of groove 16. Rearwardly of said jacket 26 the outer surface of the sheath comprises:

a plane shoulder 27 directed towards the front and perpendicular to axis XX, at the connection between the cylindrical surfaces 29 and 30 of said sheath, the diameters of which correspond to those of surfaces 17 and 19 respectively of body 11;

and a conical shoulder 28 directed towards the rear and provided between surface 30 and a rear cylindrical surface 31 having a smaller diameter.

Sheath 22 is enclosed in body 11 by means of a rear socket 32 screwed into the internally threaded part 21 of said body 11. Said socket 32 terminates in the front part in a complementary frusto-conical surface of shoulder 28 of sheath 22. From this end the internal bore of socket 32 directly surrounds the rear cylindrical surface of sheath 22 on a small length and then provides with said surface an annular space in which a sleeve 33 is located.

Said sleeve is provided with a rear shoulder 34 which rests from the rear towards the front on the rear face of sheath 22 and owing to which it is possible to shift said sheath and, accordingly, guide 23 which is secured therein, from the rear position of Figs. 1 and 2 in which sheath 22 abuts by its shoulder 28 the holding socket 32, up to a front position shown in Fig. 3 and in which operating socket 33 abuts in turn, by its front end, the internal shoulder 35 of socket 32.

The striker guide 23 which is screwed at 24 into sheath 22 comprises towards the front an outer surface 36 of a frusto-conical or similar shape which provides an annular space 37 with the thin jacket 26 of the sheath. The guide widens out in the shape of a front head provided with a frusto-conical valve seat 38. Said seat is extended on the whole length of the guide through a smooth cylindrical axial hole 39.

Slidably mounted in said hole 39 but with the smallest possible play is the striker pin 4t), which projects at both ends of guide 23. In the front the striker ends in the form of a more or less rounded striking point 41. Following said point the striker widens out in the shape of a circular collar 42. The front face of said collar is provided with a groove 43 intended to form a deector and to return towards the front of the gases produced during firing while the rear face is frusto-conical and has the same angle at the apex as seat 38 of the guide and forms a valve.

In the rear the striker is extended beyond guide 23 and its end engages inside a socket 45 of a drawing and striking hook 46. The striker is secured in socket 45 through a transversal diametral key 47.

The above described percussion device is combined, as already stated, with two auxiliary percussion control devices of a known type: one, the so-called automatic percussion device, is adapted to bring the striker pin 40 and its guide (Z2-23) to the position shown in Fig. 3 in which point 41 of the striker projects frontwards with respect to brush 7 for the purpose of insuring the automatic percussion, the projectile which is to be tired and which is located in tube 1 coming to strike against said point by gravity; the other, the so-called controlled percussion device, is adapted to insure the normal operation of the striker, i. e. its cocking against a resilient return device and its throwing towards the front under the action of this spring.

In order that the invention may be well understood and with a view to facilitating the disclosure of the opf eration both said known devices are shown in Fig. l and will be described hereunder.

Located in the radial cavity 6 of tang 3 of the breech is a removable case 48 formed, in fact, of a block exactly encased in said cavity and the depth of its insertion being limited through a shoulder 58 which rests in a rabbet 50a of tang 3 of the breech. Said removable case 48 carries both above mentioned control devices which are rigorously removable with said case and have no positive mechanical connection with the percussion device proper.

The first of said devices (automatic percussion) comprises a control knob 51 secured, by means of a screw 52, to a sleeve 53 provided with a shoulder 54 which with knob 51 encompasses a bead formed in the correspond- -ing hole of the case so that the whole (S1-53) can turn around its axis with respect to said case but cannot be shifted longitudinally. Sleeve 53 is internally threaded and screwed into said socket is a threaded rod 55 which is shifted longitudinally by the rotations of the whole (5l-53). The end of said rod is located in a cavity 56 of case 48 and ends in the shape of a fork.

One arm of a bell crank lever 57 is engaged in said fork; said lever 57 is rockingly mounted on an axis 58 carried by the case 48, and a spring 59 maintains said arm of said lever in contact with the bottom of the strap. The other arm of lever 57 forms a fork; both legs of said fork are arranged parallel with the plane of Fig. 1, and straddle the hook 46 without any positive mechanical connection with the same but so that they may come to abut, from the rear towards the front, the rear face of sleeve 33, in order to bringV the latter and the guide (22-23) from the position of Fig. 2 to the position of Fig. 3.

The second device, the so-called controlled percussion device, comprises a hammer 60 in the shape of a hollow cylinder which is slidably mounted in a hole 61 and which, when case 48 is driven home into cavity 6, comes to be located behind hook 46, in such a manner that it can strike against the same when said hammer is subjected to the releasing action ofa percussion spring 62, located in its cylindrical part. Said hammer comprises a front nose 63 which, when case 48 is set in place in cavity 6, cornes to be located right in front of the nose of hook 46.

Spring 62 is enclosed between the front end of hammer 6i) and a cylindrical pusher 64 adapted to slide in said hammer under the action of a cocking linger 65 keyed on a transverse spindle 66 which passes through housing 48, is journalled in said housing and is actuated by an outer rocking lever 67.

A cylindrical sear 68, which is located in a rear cavity of the case 48 and constantly urged by a spring 69 towards its engaged position, is so arranged as to engage with its nose 70 in an opening 71 provided in the hammer and to lock the latter during the compression of spring 62.

A disc 72 is keyed on axis 66 and comprises a. trigger nose 73 so as to impinge, at the end of its travel, on an abutment 74 of the sear 68 so as to raise the latter slightly and thus to cause the release of pawl 70.

The released hammer then strikes against hook 46 and produces the percussion. The mechanism is automatically brought to its starting position again by spring 62 and through the medium of the cooking inger 65 which then rests against a rear stop 75 of the hammer, said stop being nearer axis 66 of finger 65 than the resting point of this tinger against the pusher 64 so that the torque acting by the action of spring 62, on the finger 66 is stronger than that acting in the opposite direction and by the action of the same spring on the hammer 60.

The operation is as follows: (1) Controlled percussion position.

At rest the parts assume the positions which are shown on Figs. l and 2; more particularly, the valve 44 of the striker 40 is maintained on its seat 38 of the guide by the traction of spring 62, said traction being transmitted through finger 63, stop 75, hammer 60 and hook 46. Furthermore, the pieces are locked in position by the engagement of the nose 70 with the hammer.

On pressing the sear, i. e. when, lever 67 having come,

for example, at 67a (Fig. l), trigger nose 73 which came against stop 74 causes the sear to yield, the released hammer is pushed towards the front by spring 62 and, in turn, throws the drawing hook 46 and the striker 40 towards the front, which latter comes to strike with its point 41 against the priming cap of the cartridge of the projectile contained in the guntube.

As soon as they are formed the gases of the powder while resting against the collar 42 of the striker 40 strongly push said striker rearwardly and apply rapidly valve 44 ("1" onto the seat 38 of the guide 23, thus closing the passage The lever 67 being at 67a and the striker in its front position, the gunner turns knob 51 and causes the shifting towards the front of the fork of lever 57 and therewith of the resting ring 33 which, in turn, through its rear stop pushes the guide 22-23 until the seat 3S comes in Contact with the valve 44.

The resilient cylinder 17 pushes before it the foulings which deposited on the exposed part of the boring 17 and said foulings heap up in groove 16 provided for this purpose.

(3) Automatic percussion position.

The parts assume the position indicated on Fig. 3 by the action on the resting ring 33 of the fork of the lever 57. The striker is maintained applied through its valvel 44 against the seat 33 under the action of the percussion spring 62 which acts on the drawing hook 46.

When the projectile moves downwards in the gun-tube, the priming cap of the cartridge comes into contact with the projecting striker and causes the tiring of the shot.

The gas-tightness is insured by the pressure of the gases in the like manner as in the first case.

(4) Passage from automatic percussion position to the controlled percussion position.

rIhe recoil of the fork of the lever 57 through the operation of control knob 51 makes possible the return` of the parts to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

Of course, the invention is by no way limited to the form of execution described and shown which was given only by way of example.

Having now described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A percussion mechanism for a muzzle-loaded firearm, permitting the controlled operations of said firearm on automatic and controlled percussions respectively, comprising in combination: a body located in the breechbore of said arm and provided with a cylindrical bore coaxial with said breech-bore; means for securing said body to said breech-bore; a tubular striker-guide slidingly mounted within said cylindrical bore between a fore active position and a rear retracted position; a striker movable axially and located without transverse play in said striker-guide, said striker protruding beyond the ends of said striker-guide by means of a forward end portion and of a rearward end portion; said forward end portion comprising a forward striking tip and an annular, valve-forming collar located behind said tip; an annular valve seat for said valve-forrning collar on the forward end of said striker-guide; a iirst rear control device adapted to move said striker-guide between said rear retracted position and said fore active position and to bring and maintain said striker-guide in said fore active position for automatic percussion; said striker being then moved and maintained forward for automatic percussion by the push of said valve seat on said collar, said valve seat remaining in intimate and gas-tight contact with said collar during said automatic percussion; said first rear control device being further adapted to bring and maintain said striker-guide into said rear retracted position for controlled percussion; a second rear control device for controlled percussion, by direct action onto the rear end of said striker, to impart thereto alternative axial movements in said striker-guide, while the latter is maintained stationary at said rear retracted position by said first rear control device; said alternative axial movements during controlled percussion displacing said striker alternately to and from a forward firing position and a rearward inactive position;` said collar, in said inactive position being in intimate and gas-tight contact with said valve-seat of said striker-guide while the latter is maintained in said rear retracted position.

2. A percussion mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: an outer ange on said sliding strikerguide intermediate the length thereof; a rear-faced shoulder on the inner wall of said body and adapted to cooperate with the forward face of said outer fiange to limit the forward displacement of said sliding strikerguide; an inner socket screwed into the rear end of said body and surrounding the rear portion of said sliding striker-guide, the front end of said socket forming an inner ange spaced apart from said shoulder, the front face of said inner flange being adapted to cooperate with the rear face of said outer ange to limit the rearward displacement of said sliding striker-guide; and an auxiliary slidable sleeve between the rear portion of said sliding striker-guide and said socket, said sleeve having a rear shoulder adapted to bear against the rear end of said sliding striker-guide, said sleeve being adapted to operatively cooperate with said first rear control device.

3. In a percussion mechanism for a muzzle-loaded firearm for the controlled use of automatic and controlled percussions, in combination: a body in the breech of said arm having a cylindrical bore coaxial with said breech and secured to said breech; in said cylindrical bore, a tubular striker-guide movable between a fore active position and a rear retracted position; a striker located, and axially movable, in said striker-guide and having a forward and a rearward end portion both protruding from said striker guide; said forward end portion comprising, outside said striker-guide, a striking tip and back of the latter a valve-forrning collar having a rear valve-forming surface; a seat for said valve forming surface on the forward end of said striker guide; a rst control device adapted to move said striker-guide between said fore active position and said rear retracted position and to bring and maintain said striker in position of automatic percussion by the forward push of said seat on said valve-forming surface; and a second control device adapted to actuate directly said striker in controlled percussion, said striker-guide being then maintained in said rear retracted position by said rst control device.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,469,663 Leech Oct. 2, 1923 1,506,018 Lyman Aug. 26, 1924 2,245,623 Summerbell July 17, 1941 2,382,225 Hochstetler Aug. 14, 1945 2,433,334 Birkeland Dec. 30, 1947 2,477,253 Jasse July 26, 1949 2,480,100 Weiss et a1 Aug. 23, 1949 2,503,309 Weiss Apr. 1l, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS 668,170 Germany Nov. 28, 1938 

